By Grant Rodgers
Members of Veterans for Peace and Occupy Des Moines teamed up for a protest Saturday at President Obama’s Des Moines campaign office.

The demonstrators raised concerns relating to the president’s handling of foreign policy and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a letter read outside of the office, demonstrators demanded the president reign in U.S. military spending and end the nation’s worldwide military presence.

“To fulfill the Occupy Wall Street movement’s call to return our country’s economic and political life back to the 99 percent, we will need a president who will make the dismantling of the U.S. military empire their number one foreign policy priority,” the letter reads.

Though demonstrators originally intended to enter the office, at 621 East 2nd St., to speak with campaign staff, the doors were locked and the office closed.

A dozen people planned on being arrested if law enforcement became involved, according to an Occupy Des Moines release.

The demonstrators are going to maintain a picket line throughout the day, and another protest led by Occupy Des Moines and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, or ICCI, is scheduled for 2:30.

The protest will call attention to deportation of immigrants.

Members of Veterans for Peace and Occupy Des Moines are asking for the end of the U.S. "military empire."